U.S. patent number 6,658,130 [Application Number 09/973,059] was granted by the patent office on 2003-12-02 for receptacle for earphone cord.
Invention is credited to Fang Tien Huang.
United States Patent |
6,658,130 |
Huang |
December 2, 2003 |
Receptacle for earphone cord
Abstract
A receptacle for earphone cord is disclosed. The present
receptacle comprises a front shell and a rear shell, a retractable
earphone cord mounted within the two shells, and a retracting
device having a rolling disc mounted onto a pivotal seat and a
retracting spring being mounted at one side of the rolling disc,
one end of the spring being mounted at the rolling disc and the
other end of the spring being located at a pivotal rod of the pivot
seat, characterized in that a recess is provided on the rolling
disc and contains soft coiled cord which is coiled into a plurality
of coils, one end of the cord is connected to the earphone cord and
the other end is connected to a connection wire, thereby the
compactness of the soft coiled cord provides extension capability
and retraction capability.
Inventors: |
Huang; Fang Tien (Taipei,
TW) |
Family
ID: |
29216468 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/973,059 |
Filed: |
October 10, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
381/384; 379/430;
381/370 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04R
1/1033 (20130101); B65D 23/065 (20130101); H04R
1/1016 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04R
1/10 (20060101); H04R 025/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;381/376,371,374,380,384,370 ;242/400.1,405.2,407,385.4 ;379/430
;455/90.3 ;439/501,4,27 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Kuntz; Curtis
Assistant Examiner: Nguyen ; Tuan D
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lei; Leong C.
Claims
I claim:
1. A receptacle for earphone cord having a front shell and a rear
shell, a retractable earphone cord mounted within the two shells,
and a retracting device having a rolling disc mounted onto a
pivotal seat and a retracting spring being mounted at one side of
the rolling disc, one end of the spring being mounted at the
rolling disc and the other end of the spring being located at a
pivotal rod of the pivot seat, characterized in that a recess is
provided on the rolling disc and contains soft coiled cord which is
coiled into a plurality of coils, one end of the cord is connected
to the earphone cord and the other end is connected to a connection
wire, thereby the compactness of the soft coiled cord provides
extension capability and retraction capability.
2. The receptacle for earphone cord of claim 1, wherein a cavity is
provided to the front shell to mount the retracting device, and a
top hole and a bottom hole are provided respectively on the top and
bottom end of the front shell, a clipping body is provided on the
rear shell and a top hole and a bottom hole are respectively
provided on the top and bottom end of the inner side of the rear
shell such that a through hole is formed by the top and bottom
holes of the rear and front shells for the passage of the
connection cord or earphone cord.
3. The receptacle for earphone cord of claim 1, wherein the
retracting device includes a pivot seat, a rolling disc, a
retracting spring and a soft coiled cord, and the pivot seat is
located on the front shell and a pivot rod is located on the pivot
seat for the pivotal mounting of the rolling disc, one side of the
pivot seat is an actuating disc having one end being extended to a
push button and the other end being mounted at an engaging recess
of the rolling disc, a pulling spring is mounted to the actuating
disc.
4. The receptacle for earphone cord of claim 3, wherein one side of
the push button has a sloping surface allowing the pushing of the
bottom end of the actuating disc.
5. The receptacle for earphone cord of claim 1, wherein a cap is
provided to the external side of the front shell and has a notch to
accommodate an earphone, and a hook is provided within the cap to
secure the earphone.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receptacle for earphone cord,
and in particular, a receptacle which is used to contain earphone
cord, enhancing longevity of the earphone cord.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional receptacle for earphone cord comprising
a front shell 1 and a rear shell 2, a retractable earphone cord 40
and a retracting device 3. A retractable spring 32 located within
the retractable device 3 causes a driving disc 31 to rotate and the
earphone cord 40 is rolled and collected within the receptacle.
However, the contact between a contacting disc 330 and a conductive
disc 304 within the receptacle causes wears and thus the longevity
of the conventional receptacle is reduced. Accordingly, it is an
object of the present invention to provide a receptacle for
earphone cord which mitigates the above drawback, and the longevity
of the receptacle is increased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a
receptacle for earphone cord having a front shell and a rear shell,
a retractable earphone cord mounted within the two shells, and a
retracting device having a rolling disc mounted onto a pivotal seat
and a retracting spring being mounted at one side of the rolling
disc, one end of the spring being mounted at the rolling disc and
the other end of the spring being located at a pivotal rod of the
pivot seat, characterized in that a recess is provided on the
rolling disc and contains a soft coiled cord which is coiled into a
plurality of coils, one end of the cord is connected to the
earphone cord and the other end is connected to a connection wire,
thereby the compactness of the soft coiled cord provides extension
capability and retraction capability.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
receptacle for earphone cord, wherein a cavity is provided to the
front shell to mount the retracting device, and a top hole and a
bottom hole are provided respectively on the top and bottom end of
the front shell, a clipping body is provided on the rear shell and
a top hole and a bottom hole are respectively provided on the top
and bottom end of the inner side of the rear shell such that a
through hole is formed by the combination of the top and bottom
holes of the rear and front shells for the passage of the
connection cord or the earphone cord.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a
receptacle for earphone cord, wherein the retracting device
includes a pivot seat, a rolling disc, a retracting spring and a
soft coiled cord, and the pivot seat is located on the front shell
and a pivot rod is located on the pivot seat for the pivotal
mounting of the rolling disc, one side of the pivot seat is an
actuating disc having one end being extended to a push button and
the other end is mounted at an engaging recess of the rolling disc,
and a pulling spring is mounted to the actuating disc.
The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief introduction
to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other
objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself,
all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the
following detailed description of the invention and the claims
should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference
numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will
become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to
the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in
which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the
principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative
example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of a conventional earphone
cord receptacle box.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a receptacle for earphone
cord of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a receptacle for earphone cord of
the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a front view of a receptacle for earphone cord of the
present invention.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line A--A of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the retraction and extension of
a receptacle for earphone cord of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the components of a receptacle
for earphone cord of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the retraction of a receptacle
for earphone cord of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, there is shown a receptacle for earphone
cord having a front shell 6, a rear shell 7, a retractable
ear-phone cord 40 located between the rear and the front shell 7,
6, and a retracting device 8 for connection with an external
connection cord 50.
The front shell 6 having a top hole 61, and a bottom hole 62 has a
cavity 60 for holding the retracting device 8. The top hole 61 has
a leading mount 63 and a press block 64 to restrict the earphone
cord 40. One side of the front shell 6 has a notch 65 for the
mounting of a push button 66 to slide thereon. One side of the
button 66 has a sloping face 67 to control the retracting device 8.
The other side of the button 66 has a pulling spring 68 having one
end mounted to the front shell 6. The outer side of the front shell
6 is mounted with a cap 69 with screw 690 and there is a notch 691
on the cap 69 for the holding of an earphone 4. A hook 692 is
provided within the cap 69 to hold the earphone 4.
The rear shell 7 is mounted to the front shell 6 with screw 73, and
has a clipping body 70 for clipping the receptacle onto a belt of a
user. There is a top hole 71 and a bottom hole 72 located
respectively at the top and bottom end of the rear shell 7, and
these holes 71, 72 are in alignment with the top hole 61 and the
bottom hole 62 of the front shell 6 to form a through hole for the
passage of the earphone cord 40 and the connection cord 50. A notch
74 is located at the side of the rear shell 7 and is combined with
the notch 65 of the front shell 6 to form a mounting for the push
button 66.
The retracting device 8 includes a pivot seat 80, a rolling disc
81, a retracting spring 82 and a soft coiled cord 83. The pivot
seat 80 is mounted to the front shell 6 by screw 800 and has a
pivot rod 801 for the pivotal mounting of the rolling disc 81. One
side of the pivot seat 80 has an actuating disc 802 having one end
extended to the push button 66. The other end of the actuating disc
802 is extended to an engaging slot 814 of the protruded edge 813
at one side of the rolling disc 81, and the actuating disc 802 has
a pulling spring 803. The other end of the pulling spring 803 is
mounted onto the pivot seat 80, and the surrounding edge of the
rolling disc 81 has a rolling slot 810 allowing the earphone cord
40 to be surrounded thereto. One side of the rolling disc 81 has a
spring slot 811 to hold the retracting spring 82. The other side of
the rolling disc 81 has a recess 812 to accommodate the soft-coiled
cord 83. A protruded edge 813 is provided at the slot edge of the
recess 812, and there are a plurality of engaging slots 814 located
on the protruded edge 813 for the mounting of one end of the
actuating disc 802. One end of the spring 82 is mounted to the
rolling disc 81 and one end of the inner side of the spring 82 has
a pivot rod 801. The outer side of the spring 82 has a spring cap
820 to be mounted onto the spring slot 811. The soft-coiled cord 83
is rolled into coils and is located in the recess 812, and one end
of the cord 83 is connected to the earphone cord 40, and the other
end is connected to the connection wire 50.
The earphone cord 40 is a cord extended from the earphone 4 having
one end being connected to one end of the coiled cord 83.
The connection wire 50 is a wire extended from a connector 5, and
the connector can be mounted with the output of a mobile phone or
earphone to transmit signals from the output device to the earphone
4. One end of the connection wire 50 is connected to the
soft-coiled cord 83.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the earphone 4 is pressed, the hook 692 is
extended and the hook 692 secures the earphone 4. The earphone 4 is
restricted within the cap 69. When the earphone 4 is pulled out,
the hook 692 is extended outward in the pulling direction and the
earphone 4 is dislocated from the cap 69.
As shown in FIGS. 5, 7 and 8, when the earphone cord 40 is pulled
out, the rolling disc 31 will rotate and the spring 82 becomes taut
and the coiled cord 83 will surround the pivot rod 801 as the
rolling disc 81 is driven to rotates. When the earphone cord 40 is
released, the actuating disc 802 will engage the cord 40 and when
the push button 66 is pushed upward, the sloping face 67 will
contact will the lower end of the actuating disc 302 and the
earphone cord 40 will be rapidly rolled to the rolling disc 81 and
the coiled cord 83 will be released. When the push button 66 is
released, the pulling force of the spring 68 will cause the push
button 66 to move to the original position. At the same time, the
actuating disc 802 will be engaged at the engaging slot 814 of the
protruded edge 813 at the top end thereof so that the rolling disc
81 is restricted to rotate.
While the invention has been described with respect to preferred
embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that
modifications and improvements may be made to the invention without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore,
the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrative
embodiment, but only by the scope of the appended claims.
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